Cheers!



Gorgeous glasses - for the lips
or for display.





 Stores with funky themes are intriguing.  Not only is the merchandise bound to be interesting, but the ownership is likely super creative to come up with the idea in the first place, meaning the store will never get boring.  Case in point - I stumbled upon The Hour Shop in Old Town, Alexandria while on a shopping excursion with my mom and sister last year.  I was drawn to the quaint townhouse-style King Street shop by the round cork wreaths that radiated like a sun beam on the upstairs windows.   I wanted to buy them.  They weren't for sale (always my luck).



Beautiful painting from the store. Would look
fabulous in a kitchen - or dressing room.

The Hour Shop celebrates the joy that is the classic Happy Hour - but with an edgy vintage twist.  The theme of this store is genius - who wouldn't want to indulge in a celebration of good drinks and impeccable entertaining? The beauty of The Hour Shop hits you when you first walk in and continues are you walk deeper and higher into the store, dreaming about and planning for your next cocktail party - not the beer chugging kind with red plastic cups, but the kind that's seeped in beauty and sophistication or reminiscent of a 1970s Vegas pool party - think Casino, before Sharon Stone had her meltdown.  Surrounding you are two stories of vintage flare - wine, martini, and scotch glass sets dominate the cool factor which is intertwined with antique trays, posters, jewelry, and art.  I have long been a believer that drinks taste better in a beautiful glass - this store is my confirmation.  

These are vintage trays - but
would look fantastic on the wall as art.
Perfect for any space.  



Just beautiful! Who wouldn't want to
drink from these fabulous glasses?

Stores that sell a lifestyle are among my favorite kinds.  Even if you don't buy anything - immediately - you start thinking about ways your life or home can be made more interesting, creative, fun.  I'll always cheers to that!





Outside of the Box

I am obsessed with Pottery Barn.  Very few days pass when I don't peruse the website, looking for new pillows, sheet sets, accent pieces, and the latest sale items or those with free shipping.  My heart races with anticipation before I enter a store to watch the pages of the catalogue and Internet come alive.  I always want to curl up in the beautifully made beds with a good book (wrapped in one of their cable knit throws, of course) or have afternoon tea at one of the perfectly set tables.  It's a little like Christmas morning for me, no joke.  I unabashedly buy into the lifestyle that this store is in the business to sell.

Thank goodness for the Pottery Barns of the world.  Aside from the merchandise, such stores are great places for design and furniture arrangement ideas.  Pottery Barn, for instance, has long had links to small room ideas, outdoor living designs, or bedroom decorating tips.  For me, these catalogues become my decorating magazines.



These wooden blocks are actually prints created by local
artist, Karen Dean.  A Show of Hands carries her designs, which
change with the seasons.  These prints are in our guest bedroom,
paired with a Pottery Barn lamp, of course. 

But, there are only so many mass produced items that a home can take.  My fascination with chain decorating stores is this:  I want my home to look like a page out of the Pottery Barn catalogue in the feel and style of the room, not be an exact replicate. I think that is where a lot of people go wrong in decorating.  Too many people create rooms that could be in a magazine or catalogue, but are void of feeling or personality because all the items that make up the room will be in the homes of thousands, maybe millions, of other people.

The solution: blend the mass produced with the unique.  And you cannot get more unique than local art. 

Del Ray, and Alexandria more generally, take pride their art communities.  It's a really good thing.  Old Town is home to the famed Torpedo Factory along the Potomac River, which is a large warehouse of artisan rooms where you purchase works, take art classes, and watch the artisans in action.  Del Ray is not only host to one of the best area art shows each October and home to the Del Ray Artisans - offering a cheerful gallery to make and buy local art - but it boosts an entire store that pays tribute to the work of local artists: A Show of Hands.  This store masterfully showcases a range of local artisan work from photography to watercolors, glass designs to fabrics, jewelry to kitchenware.  If only more communities had places like this that celebrate art in all its forms and salute the work of  neighbors.  For me, the only thing better than the art in this store, is finding myself lost in admiration of the artists. 

No matter where I travel I am always on a mission to find something that celebrates that area's local flare.  Sometimes it is a painting, or a piece of pottery, maybe bench or chair. Then, I'll likely go to the Pottery Barn website to see if I can find a pillow to match.    



Antiquing



I bought this piece over a year ago at 
Not Too Shabby. It is not antique, but makes for a
fantastic mirror in our bathroom.



I have a severe weakness for antique and consignment furniture shops.  And for good reason.  They mix the perfect cocktail of items - furniture, art, accessories - that decorate a home.   Not only do these stores ooze amazing potential to find really interesting things at often reasonable prices (and many times negotiable - an art that my father-in-law has mastered), but you will always wonder where your purchases travelled before they got to you. 

In the spirit of full disclosure, I despised these shops as a little girl.  The smell alone - a mixture of mothballs and dust - always made me want to run out the door.  You know what I mean.  Why would someone want other people's unwanted junk? Ah, but that is precisely the beauty of these kinds of places.  I am happy to report that a few years ago I saw the light and have since recovered, fully, from this terrible phobia. 

Every decorator - especially novice ones like me - should seek out the antique and furniture shops in his/her community, or any community where you are travelling for that matter.  Sometimes the random antique shops on the side of the road can have the coolest treasures.

Del Ray has truly two of the best antique and furniture consignment shops that I have found. Potomac West Interiors and Antique Gallery and its neighbor, Not Too Shabby Consignments are amazing for three simple reasons: Selection, Price, and Personality.  These places are clearinghouses for smaller vendors, so each little section is made up of a slightly different style. The inventory turns frequently, so a visit each week will unearth new things.  There is also a subtle blend of non-antique items which keeps these spaces even more intriguing. 

The table that started it all.

I stumbled upon these stores a few years ago when my husband, Grant, and I were on a desperate search for another bedside table.  I walked in, turned a corner, and WHAM - there it was.  I was happy and hooked.

This is my latest purchase from Potomac West. They look like
old keys and weigh about 20 lbs each.  I
have no idea what I will do with them, but
I couldn't resist.

Part of my happiness is that I found an interesting shop that will not break the bank, as can happen in some antique shops, and the people are not snooty, which you can find in other such shops.  Plus, on the price tag, the store lists dates when the item will drop in cost if not sold.  This makes the prospects for buying and negotiating even more intriguing.



Grant is from Newport, RI.  I found this in the basement
of Potomac West for $12.  It is an old Newport
Preservation Society Poster of famous places
around town.  Not really my style, but too personal to
pass up.  It was meant to be.



Unlike other types of shopping, "antiquing" is different because you are dealing with items in limited supply, or in many cases things that are one-of-a kind.  What if I try to negotiate down the price? Maybe I should wait until the price drops? Will the price drop? What if I come back to purchase and what I want is gone? Some people get their adrenaline rush through sky diving - I get mine from antique shopping.



My challenge to you is the find antique and home consignment shops in your area.  Tell me what you find and the story they tell.  And, if you are lucky enough to be in Northern Virginia, Potomac West and Not Too Shabby are worth the trip.



I took it home and come to find out - the back of
 the poster is signed. It was a going away gift.
We don't recognize any of the names.